The Hood – Hearing from your neighborhood

By Philip Agbese 

 “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots;” – Marcus Garvey.

Everywhere in the globe, great nations, societies and communities have had their today elegantly defined by history. History is today’s teacher and tomorrow’s fortifier against the mistakes, pitfalls and inaccuracies of the past. History is kind to everyone and very silent, but speaks a thousand immutable words of wisdom to a whole generation.   

But mischievous persons seek to destroy history and there are no limits of perpetrating this act.  It’s easy for people with such mindsets to twist history and everything under the sun insofar as it serves the purpose of damaging a noble cause. It is to such debased minds Marcus Garvey; a famed Jamaican publisher is warning in the insightful caution.

In an article by  Charles Ogbu,  titled,  “Re: The legend of Buratai; Memo to the Army Chief,” the author sought vainly to vilify and demean the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and remarkable  ombudsman of the counter-insurgency operations in Nigeria.

Ogbu attempted so generously to amputate historically time-tested and incontrovertible facts about the current leadership of the Nigerian Army and the stout battles Nigerian troops have launched against Boko Haram Terrorism and insurgency in Nigeria in the past three years.

Unmistakably blinded by an inexplicable self-consuming anger, the author went on a senseless and apparently envious, but unrewarding voyage against the Army Chief. Freedom of expression in Nigeria is a Constitutional right; but it precludes the spewing of gibberish, spurred by a clannish or sectional anger or some personal grudge.

The author’s angst is instigated by the planned   presentation of a published book on Gen. Buratai, titled “The Legend of Buratai,” to school children at the Federal Capital Territory library, Abuja.  The contents of the book mainly   about the exploits of the Nigerian Army over insurgency and insurrections in Nigeria under the leadership of Gen. Buratai in a fictional style narrative of children’s literature, authored by a renowned scholar, Dr. Abubakar Mohd Sani.

 

Ogbu faulted the book and its presentation to school children by seeking to falsely re-write the history of Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria under the previous regimes and what is obtainable now under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.  

 

The namby-pamby article saw the author displaying a pathetic and eclipsed knowledge of the success story of the three-year counter-terrorism battles under the Buhari Presidency. He   further sought to undermine Gen. Buratai’s leadership of the Nigerian Army and the successes Nigerian troops have recorded at the warfront against Boko Haram insurgents.

The obviously dazed, the article author gleefully forgot yesterday’s history on Boko Haram in Nigeria. He is experiencing the difference today, but lacks the competence to interpret or blend it with history. So, he decided on an easy escape by dissolving the cherished history of triumph and defeat of Boko Haram with his wayward idiosyncrasies’.  

 

It is his type former American President, Dwight D. Eisenhower counsels that “Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him.”

 

The author betrayed his mindset by crafting and peddling visible lies on this simple conviction of inappropriate timing.  But facts are sacred and history cannot be obviated by a mere wish. First, the article author is devoid of procedural knowledge of the deployment of soldiers. So, he failed to understand that it is not the primary duty of the Army to jump into quelling insurrections; but that of civil security agencies.

 

 The Army is only concerned when the proper approval has been granted by the President and Commander-In-Chief. Thereafter, soldiers launch specified operations in the areas concerned, but do not remain in such areas forever.

 

But irrefutable records have shown that across Nigeria where the Army were drafted to quell insurrections, they have posted positive results. The article author deliberately failed to understand that the Army tackled the armed banditry and cattle rustling in the Northwest region at different times with “Operation Sharan Daji” and “Operation Harbin Kunama I.”  

 

These Army operations ended the reign of armed banditry in the region and it only resumed a long time after soldiers were withdrawn to other places and political leadership failed to sustain the peace and security. The Army has been re-ordered back to Northwest for a month’s  battled tagged “Operation Harbin Kunama III” and results also speak for itself in pluses.  

 

 Soldiers also conducted “Operation Harbin Kunama II,” “Exercise Ayem Akpatema” and now, “Operation Whirl Stroke” to arrest the menace of herdsmen/farmers clashes in the Middle Belt region. Ogbu should research or investigate properly, Governors of Benue, Taraba, Nasarawa and Plateaus have made public statements in the media thanking Mr. President and the Army for the prevailing solace over herdsmen killers in their states.

 

There were similar problems in the South-South with bile militancy and the illegal/ armed secession struggles in the Southeast spearheaded by Nnamdi Kanu’s IPOB. But the different operations of the Army in these regions have ended such “madness,” as peace and security have been restored courtesy of the Nigerian Army. Seeking to blight this history of the Army under the leadership of Gen. Buratai cannot annihilate the facts.    

 

To use the  wishy-washy contents of the article to berate and malign our soldiers over the nebulous and criminal activities of its assembled armed gangs under IPOB  who embarked on extra-judicial killings of those opposed to their ideology  is very uncharitable and a disservice to Nigeria. It is not surprising all together that Ogbu generously sided armed criminals masquerading as secession agitators, because it is innate with some Nigerians to support evil against their country.  

 

The article author continued with the historical distortions and falsehood when he exhumed the treated and buried attacks on the convoy of the COAS by armed  Shiites in Nigeria in December 2015 in Zaria, Kaduna state.   It is completely standing against logic and somewhat silly for quoting isolated accounts of submissions during Public hearings of  the Judicial Commission of Inquiry(JCI) set up by the Kaduna State Government, instead of the  official report or its White Paper. It implies this armchair analyst is merely scouting for dark spots to blame Gen. Buratai and the Army.   

 

Likewise, the author feels defaming the personality of Gen. Buratai  or tainting  the image of the Nigerian Army as an institution would be believable by forcing the stale belief that whatever Amnesty International (AI) reels out is gospel truth.  But AI is suspected to be foreign agents supporting terror sects or groups to destabilize the country and cause its disintegration.  Year after year, AI has been unable to substantiate or provide evidence against numerous allegations it keeps levelling against the Nigerian Army at lawful probe panels.

 

The author of the worthless article dabbled into the Boko Haram insurgency, which by all ramifications of his accounts are strange to him. He disgraced himself as someone who is ignorant of the intensity of insurgency in 2015 and the impacts the Gen. Buratai led troops have brought to bear through the counter-insurgency operations.

 

But where were his likes who feign ignorance now when   Gen. Buratai stepped into the trenches with troops to know Boko Haram had full control and foisted their Jihadi flags in 17 LGAs and had partial control of another seven LGAs in the Northeast?  Under Buratai’s leadership of counter-terrorism operations, all the LGAs have been reclaimed. The feared Sambisa forest has been demystified and has assumed the status of an international tourists attraction site.  Can this history be distorted or countenanced by Ogbu too?

 

Aside the  276 Chibok Schoolgirls in Boko Haram captivity, over 20, 000 Nigerians, comprising the  young, the old, women and children were under Boko Haram hostage in various insidious camps in the Northeast. They were subjected to forced labour, sexual abuse and other dehumanizing treatments. Under Gen. Buratai’s leadership of the Army, over 105 Chibok schoolgirls; 107 Dapchi schoolgirls and over 16,000 Nigerians formerly under terrorist’s captivity have been rescued. Is this fact too controvertible?

 

To advertise the author’s ignorance, he convicted himself by claiming Nigerian troops are poorly equipped yet, they have been able to reclaim all Boko Haram seized territories, confine their activities to remotest parts of Lake Chad Basin and halted terrorists’ atrocities in other parts of Northern Nigeria.

 

And  about two weeks ago,  troops successfully repelled the insurgents attempted attacks on Damaturu, at Maiduguri, where scores of insurgents met their waterloo and  weapons confiscated by Nigerian troops?  It means this sort of “poor” equipment of Nigerian troops as hyped by the article author is best for Nigeria.    

 

Perhaps, to Ogbu and his co-travellers, it is important to know Nigerian Army or troops have never protested over unpaid salaries and allowances under the Buhari Presidency or Gen. Buratai’s leadership. The only time soldiers attempted a protest at Maiduguri airport some two years back was spurred by the incitement and hesitation to redeployment to other areas by some soldiers.  May be, the article writer should wait, when he becomes the COAS, he can allow his troops dictate to him preferences in posting locations for official assignments.

 

It’s understandable that in Nigeria, everybody is an expert in every field, but master of none! The writer misplaced his thoughts with the claim that Gen. Buratai  “…has continued to grant suspicious pardon to “repentant” Boko Haram terrorists amidst reports of secret recruitment of these so called “repentant” terrorists into the Army.”

 

This is thoughtless propaganda. From the outset, Gen. Buratai made it public his adoption of the “stick and carrot,” approach in dismantling Boko Haram. It has seen the voluntary surrender of hundreds of Boko Haram foot soldiers and top commanders, who are de-militarized and de-radicalized over a period of time in designated military camps.

 

It is some of these repentant and de-radicalized insurgents that are absorbed into the Army and it is done openly, with the media buzzing with the news. A popular axiom says, sometimes, you use a thief to catch a thief. Why would this split anybody’s head?  

 

No matter how hard the efforts to unfairly excoriate Gen. Buratai , the records will exonerate him. Its senseless to claim a COAS who probed and dismissed soldiers on election duty for professional misconduct and compromise of the electoral process will turn around to promote same. In the 2019 general elections, soldiers on election duty in some parts of the country rather resisted the temptation of financial inducement by politicians.

Gen. Buratai, a leader who has made these priceless sacrifices and accomplishments for his country is not qualified to be dubbed a Legend, who else on his present seat, stretched this far in the past? Unknown to the likes of Ogbu,  a prophet has no honour in his village, but Gen. Buratai is celebrated both at home and abroad, as he has bagged  the Brazilian highest military award for his daring  punches on terrorism in Nigeria.

 

Another former American President, Harry S. Truman,  reminds the likes of the bewitched critic the  embodiment of history in Gen. Buratai thus; “Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better”.

Agbese is a researcher in international humanitarian laws and wrote this piece from the United Kingdom.

The immediate past  Commissioner of Youths and Sports in Ogun State Honourable Afolabi Afuape popularly known as “AFOO”  joins millions of Christians all over the world to celebrate Easter and also fecilitates with all Christians and the good people of Ogun State, urging them to imbibe the virtue of sacrifice as exhibited by the crucifixion of Jesus Christ to save mankind.

It is through generosity of the heart that we can make our impacts felt by our fellow human beings, urging the Christians to imbibe the virtue of sacrifice as exhibited by the crucifixion of Jesus Christ to save mankind.

He said, in the most trying moment of His life, Jesus Christ elevated salvation of mankind above his personal survival.

He urged Nigerians to make service to mankind a major plank of their activities in whatever they do.

“Jesus Christ demonstrated that making sacrifices is a virtue through which we can save our fellow men.

 Let this spirit guide you in all you do. It is through generosity to our neighbours that we can make our impacts felt by our fellow human beings for the life of happiness,” Afoo said.

Ogun State Chairman of ANACOWA Motorcycle Owners And Riders Association Of Nigeria, Comrade Prince Azeez Rasheed has felicitated with Christians on the celebration of this year’s Easter, urged Christians to emulate Jesus Christ by making peaceful coexistence among ourselves a duty to God during the Easter celebrations. 

The Chairman, in an Easter message signed by Comrade Akeem Temitope Akilo, the Director of Media And Publicity, urged members of ANACOWA Ogun state and all Okada riders to be calm and patient diligently, not losing their control while on  operation during and after the festival. 

The message read in part: “The Chairman, Prince Azeez Rasheed said: “In the Christian world, Easter is perhaps the single most significant event as it captures the whole essence of Jesus’s journey to the earth. It Is therefore incumbent upon us to imbibe the teaching of Jesus Christ. I hereby wish you the best on this Easter and wish that your business gets profitable with the blessings of God.

“He called on the people of Ogun State to continue to pray for the incoming administration of Prince Dapo Abiodun, MFR for a smooth transition period and successful tenure”, he added.

By Richards Murphy 

 

Something profound happened in Nigeria in the month of April but it was lost in the hubbub of the socio-political grind of Nigeria. It was the sentencing of IG Wala, a self-style activist to 12 years jail term for criminal defamation. He is meant to spend at least seven years in the slammer. 

What is noteworthy is not that Wala got canned. The profound aspect is that he was convicted and sentenced for what he posted on Facebook. The post that sent him to jail claimed that he had documents with which he was blackmailing the Chairman of the National Hajj Commission. Even when faced with the prospect of jail he was never able to tender the said documents because he never had them to start with.

A few of those that have reacted to Wala’s conviction and stiff jail term missed the point though. They failed to see that the courts have transcended the limitations that once made it difficult for electronic evidence to be admitted in the prosecution of cases. What has happened to this pseudo activist is a wake-up call that his co-travellers will ignore at their own peril. The era of unbridled flippancy on social media is over for good.

But it appears one Jackson Ude, an online militant of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), appears to be blissfully unaware of the much that has changed in what is acceptable and what is not when people interact with the rest of the world online. Ude, who continues to throw caution to the wind, is targeting Lt. General Tukur Buratai, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), for blackmail by claiming about phantom contracts and ghost bureau de change in Abuja. He is also running a campaign of calumny against the wife of the president, Mrs. Aisha Buhari and just anyone that is connected to President Muhammadu Buhari in any way.

One amazing thing is that even in the aftermath of IG Wala getting his just dessert, Ude went on a Twitter rant making spurious accusations that are weighty but without proof. While his co-traveller had claimed to have document (that he was later unable to produce), Ude did not as much as mention that he has proof or that his allegations can be substantiated.

This is a long established pattern of Ude, who publishes Pointblank News, which is best known as a platform for publishing tarnishing lies against those that refuse to pay for the owner’s silence. His exploits are well documented when his attempts at blackmailing several politicians of Igbo extraction spectacularly landed him and his “boys” in trouble in 2014. It must be mentioned that even fellow publishers of online news are not safe from Ude’s activities.

Ude is also complicit of deceiving the reading public by failing to disclose that his so called exclusive revelation about General Buratai is in fact part of his brief to demonize the administration of President Buhari for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). He was after all an aide of former President Goodluck Jonathan, he was responsible for pushing online propaganda to obscure the corruption that went on in that government. Additionally, he is among the online warriors paid to launder the election loss of PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

What is interesting is that Ude is trying to hide behind one finger believing that he can defame others, conceal his sins and shield him from consequences. He is further complicating things for himself by antagonizing those that are enlightened enough to point him to the errors of his way. The comical height of this is Ude blocking those that are critical of his follies from interacting with his social media post. This posture in itself smacks of ignorance of how the law works. Blocking others from viewing his libellous posts will not shield him from legal consequences when his IG Wala moment comes.

Interestingly, the social media posts that will nail Jackson Ude are already written. All that is left is for the subjects of his serial failed blackmail attempts to approach the law courts. Should those targeted by Ude for blackmail decide to take their matters to the court, the hapless fellow will first be tortured by the sheer impracticality of hoping from one courtroom to the other across the country because he has, by virtue of his engagement, written enough defamatory pieces to spend the remainder of his natural life in jail and possible reincarnate to complete the outstanding custodial commitment in his next life.

One must however appeal to General Buratai to put any judicial response to Ude’s puerile behaviour in abeyance. This is because, with the benefit of judicial precedence, Buratai heading to court will earn Ude a one way ticket to jail and swiftly too. While this will serve the interest of justice and deterrence to other blackmailers, the urchin’s impish followers will not be able to distinguish between a conviction for criminal defamation and the suppression of free speech. They will take to town to allege that their warlord is being hounded for being outspoken and sadly there is a way that idiocy appeals to people with limited reasoning faculties.

So, in the interest of the institution of the Nigerian Army, which needs all the focus at the moment because of its responsibility to the nation, General Buratai should allow Ude’s reckoning to come from other quarters, and this is guaranteed to happen being the train wreck that he is. He continues to be an irritant, a minor one. The COAS must also avoid ever responding to Ude, who already has too many people after him, because accusing fingers will point the Army boss’ way if any of those he had scammed or blackmailed decide to take matters into their own hands, like some them tried to do in 2014 when the scammer alleged threats to his life.

However, Ude should not be deluded that the appeal to General Buratai not to waste time on his pettiness means that his day of reckoning is far away. It is here already. Plus, he should be afraid. Very afraid. Unlike his co-traveller, IG Wala, who is wearing prison issued uniform as a consequence of his defamatory shot at blackmail, Ude has strayed sufficiently into judicial perdition. Blackmail and defamation are the least things he has to worry about when he is dragged before the court since some of his posts and publications are directly promoting the ideologies of a terrorist organization, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Murphy wrote this piece from Calabar.

Solanke Ayomideji Taiwo

Members of the Ogun State Integrity Group (OIG) who were card carrying members of the Accord Party AP and Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) in their thousands have decamped en-masse to the People’s Democratic Party PDP.

The leader of the defectors from the Accord Party, who is also the Organising Secretary and Leader of Ogun Central, Mr Dele Oyetoro said the Accord Party under Elder Amusa Isiaka in the state was being run like an occultic group.

He said he and other defectors decided to leave Accord Party because the party had not made any meaningful impact on the lives of the people of the state.

He said , “The Accord Party lacks internal democracy , that is why the party could not win a single sit at the just concluded general election. Since they came to existence they have not integrated many members of the party , they are operating the party like an occultic group . We can ’t stay in such a party any longer.

Welcoming the defectors to the party , Dr. Doyin Okupe, the former Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs to President Goodluck Jonathan (2010 – 2015) in his country home, Agbonmagbe Castle, Iperu said the umbrella of the PDP was wide enough to accommodate more defectors.

He said the defectors will enjoy the dividends of democracy only in People’s Democratic Party PDP, if they can be committed, and set aside the bad leadership experience they had in Accord Party.

Also in attendance was Elder Yemi Akinwonmi, Deputy National Chairman South-West PDP, Honourable Oladipupo Adebutu, Members house of reps and governorship candidate of PDP in Ogun state, Architect Kayode Adebayo, Ogun East Senatorial chairman, Honourable Taiwo Akinlabi, Ogun central chairman PDP, Waliu Olawale Oladipupo, Organising Secretary Ogun, Reverend Kehinde Adesina, and local government chairmen who accompanied them to the event.

Honourable Adebutu expresses satisfactory with Dr Doyen Okupe as he described him as an exemplary politician with leadership qualities, he assured the them of level playing ground to showcase their politics at various level.

Elder Akinwonmi Yemi, said the defection of the Accord came at the right time as it will enable People’s Democratic Party in Ogun state to work as a team towards the future election. 

Giwa Egbe Obayori Okunrin Akile Ijebu “Kuye”, Giwa Alhaji Suraju Lasisi has congratulated Christians on the successful completion of the Lent and Easter celebration.

“This period, let us imbibe the teachings of Christ who brought salvation to mankind. Christmas celebration calls for love, solidarity, cooperation, forgiveness and deep reflection as it brings about a moment where mankind was given the opportunity of salvation to reconcile with our creator”.

“I therefore call on members of Egbe and the Christian community, to reflect on the lessons of easter and translate same to everyday event in our lives,” the Giwa said in a statement issued by the Publicity secretary of the Egbe, Comrade Akeem Temitope Akilo.

“I call on all our members to be one another’s brothers and to relate with one another on the basis of common brotherhood, love and generosity.”

Giwa also said, “we can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves. I do not want the peace that passeth understanding. I want the understanding which bringeth peace”. 

Let all of us maintain peace, unity, tranquility and love ourselves.

The Immediate Past Commissioner for Commerce and Industry in Ogun State and the Director of Mobilization Lagos and Ogun States of the Presidential Committee, Otunba Bimbola Ashiru has urged Christians around the Country to jettison selfishness, detestation and unwillingness to sacrifice for the betterment of the nation and mankind.

Ashiru made this statement in his Congratulatory message to Christians in Nigeria particularly in Ogun State as signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication Hon Adedapo David Adedapo . He urged Christians and Muslims to emulate and put on the toga of selflessness and undiluted passion of Christ Jesus who sacrificed all for the redemption of mankind and restitution of sins.

    “As Christians we must ensure we continue to convey the glad tidings of Jesus Christ, living in peace and harmony as Compatriots. We must be ready to be our fellow human beings keeper and preach peace instead of violence”

Continuing, Ashiru a distinguished Otunba Adeona Fusigboye of Ijebu Land and Member Economic Transition Committee of the Ogun State Governor- Elect, furthered that, the Easter period though a time to celebrate the victory of Christ over death is also a period to reflect on our daily endeavours tasking ourselves to ensure the death and victory of Christ on the cross is never a waste, by ensuring everyone irrespective of our religious acclamations show forth the virtues of Jesus Christ.

While wishing Nigerians, Ogun people in particular, a hitch free celebration, Ashiru enjoins everyone to be conscious of the security around them and to remain safe even in Celebration, prays that the blessings of Calvary will never be in vain in our lives.

The National Inter- Faith and Religious Organizations for Peace ( NIFROP) has rallied together civil society organizations, NGOs, FBOs etc to  sign a pact for national cohesion, unity, peace and stability tagged:  ‘Abuja Accord’ to win the war against religious and ethnic bigotry in our national life .

The peace treaty was signed on Thursday after a two-day International Conference held at Abua .

The groups in a communique issued at the end of the programme, urged Nigerians to eschew ethno-religious sentiments and resolve to embrace national cohesion, stability, peace and unity as articulated by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

 

The combined groups mutually reached and endorsed the following resolutions:

 

 It congratulated the President Muhammadu Buhari for supervising the conduct of a successful, free, fair and credible 2019 general elections. He was applauded for disabling the plots and exiting the fears of Nigerians over a possible disruption of 2019 general elections and, seamlessly dislodging the potent phobia of electoral violence during and after the ballots.

 

   We also commend and congratulate the masses of Nigeria for their steadfastness in Nigeria’s democracy and peaceful conduct throughout the duration and segments of the 2019 general elections.

 

The parley noted with great delight the slight improvement in voter-turnout, expressed in the enthusiasm of Nigerians to vote leaders of their choice at various levels. It is surely, a step towards dismantling the leech of voter-apathy in the democratic process and urged all Nigerians to intensify efforts to finally bury the ghost of electoral apathy.

 

The meeting resolved that the President Buhari-led Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) today has demonstrated a clear direction and focus on national re-engineering and recovery of Nigeria in the spheres of social revival, economic prosperity, security and anti-corruption sub-sectors. This deserves encouragement and espousal by all compatriots for him to go the proverbial extra mile.  

 

  The Group noted the abundant evidences in the determination and commitment of the present government in its drive for peace,  unity, the indissolubility and indivisibility of Nigeria,  by fostering dialogue for  national cohesion on thorny issues like ethno-religious tolerance  and peaceful co-existence among Nigerians of different ethno-religious and political persuasions.

 

   The parley noted with excitement the indelible imprints of the Buhari Presidency in hitherto neglected areas such as his ardent pursuit of food security and diversification of the economy through the promotion of mechanized agriculture and the soft loans to Nigerian farmers to boost robust agricultural engagements all over the county.

 

 The Groups pinpointed to Nigeria’s enlivened redemption journey with the revival of the railways transport; upgrade of national power generation and distribution from 2,300 megawatts of national grid in May 2015 to over 7,100 megawatts by end of 2018. We implored Mr. President to sustain these remedial actions.

 

 The increment in workers’ salaries with the President signing a New Minimum Wage Bill a fortnight ago and the expanding windows of the Social Investment Program (SIP) and the popular N-Power Jobs among many other similar schemes for the poorest of poor Nigerians are silent strategies of the administration in redistributing the country’s commonwealth, to majority of less privileged Nigerians, hitherto hijacked and concentrated in the hands of a few ruling elites.    

 

    The Abuja Accord also resolved that for Nigeria as a nation, it is incumbent on her citizens to necessarily embrace the new breeze of “Change,” as spearheaded by President Buhari. Nigerians are invited to boldly make a statement to the entire world by supporting initiatives, policies and programmes which lubricate this “Change,” as it is clear the FGN alone cannot make the desired impact. The cooperation and support of the citizenry is indispensable.

 

Therefore, Nigerians are challenged to imbibe new thoughts, values, perceptions and interpretations of national issues detached from personal proclivities or mundane contemplations. National interest should henceforth, be elevated above clannish or sectional interests.  

 

    To this end, all Nigerians, old or young are prodded to consciously work in the direction of assisting the central and various state governments in implanting a boisterous agenda of   national cohesion, stability, peace and unity in all nooks and crannies of Nigeria.

 

    These are only the firm pillars of a prosperous and burgeoning Nigeria.  We cannot wish otherwise because these are the tripods that will foster rapid growth and development; whilst we de-emphasize pushy ethnic and religious sentiments, with the personal idiosyncratic approach to national issues. We are first of all, Nigerians before members of any community in the country.

 

      Consequently, the Abuja Accord intensely and strongly condemned the resurgence of violence and killings in some parts of the country for whatever reasons. No nation attains its height of progress through such beastly manifestations.

 

      It appreciated the inevitability of disputes or disagreements among people and communities. But it advocated for dialogue and amicable settlement as better, decent and more respectful weapon to adopt when such disagreements erupts or in conflict situations.  It confers dignity on the feuding parties and the image of the country.  

   

 

  We pray for the souls of our brothers and sisters who have lost their lives in these unfortunate and senseless crises to rest in the bosom of Almighty God. We also wish the wounded quick recovery from their injuries, as we collectively pray for a cessation of the crises and against its resurgence anywhere in the country.  

 

       The Abuja Accord found it expedient to call on leaders of Nigeria at the lower rung; whether political, traditional or religious to be more circumspect in their utterances and actions on potentially explosive national issues. They have a moral obligation to support the Buhari Presidency on its path of Nigerian redemption.

 

   Abuja parley extremely frowned at recent comments from religious and traditional leaders which infused ethno-religious sentiments in the lobbying for the constitution of President Buhari’s next cabinet and the emergence of the leadership of the 9th National Assembly (NASS).

 

        The unhealthy informal debate between the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA). The two apex religious bodies in Nigeria seem at daggers drawn on a Christian or Muslim Senate President or Speaker of the House of Representatives, much against the trumpeted dictum of the new order of #NextLevel in Nigeria.

 

 The Abuja Conference expressed extreme displeasure at voicing such sentiments on a Christian or Muslim President of the Senate or Speaker of the House of Representatives as a descent into the retrogressive past, which Nigerians are unwilling to romance or accommodate today in any nuance.

 

   It was resolved that all religious leaders in the country should humbly and respectfully abstain from public partisan comments or leadership recommendations on the basis of religion.

 

  Also, the Abuja Accord endorsed the resolution to humbly inform these religious leaders that it is against the spirit of inter-faith and religious harmony and national cohesion among Nigerians to display such abhorrent postures.

 

     More so, as such recommendations are not the direct business of religious leaders, whose recognizable and godly duty is to pray fervently for the emergence of good leaders in the country. They should be concerned more about good leaders who would promote the idea of one Nigeria, as against the subsisting irrational segregation on religious fault lines.

 

    Furthermore, the Abuja Accord also reached a resolution that all ethnic warlords and bigots who have identified the consistent castigation of security agencies as failing in taming insecurity in the country as their only noble duty to give peace a chance. They are counseled to allow security agents do their jobs undistracted by the often influenced dishonest views they propagate to the disservice of Nigeria.

 

 It was acknowledged that traditional rulers and ethnic champions have greater roles to play in quelling crises in their respective domains than mere open rebuke of heads of security agencies over perceived wrongs. The penchant of traditional/ethnic leaders in constant interference with the governance process is also detestable and should be discarded.  

 

 And where there are genuine concerns about lapses in the operation of security agencies, these traditional leaders have the onerous responsibility to approach the heads of the security agency concerned to raise his observations and recommendations in a manner that confers dignity on all parties.

 

Such platforms will not erode the confidence of Nigerians in the job of these security agencies and oddly, ennoble the ethnic warmongers with a false sense of triumph over the Nigerian state as currently obtained. When leaders are disposed to national issues, especially on security in this porous manner, it does not lay the template for building the virile and great nation of our dreams.

 

Going forward, the Abuja Accord has resolved that President Buhari must necessarily serve Nigerians an all-round hard working cabinet as he takes the oath of office for his second term on May 29, 2019.

 

Mr. President is encouraged to search deeply and far to engage members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) who are competent, resourceful and committed to his “Change” and #NextLevel” mantra to assist him accomplish his wonderful dreams for Nigeria in the remaining four years.  

 

Therefore, the Groups resolved to impress it on President Buhari to constitute his 2019 cabinet that will only work for Nigeria and not for an ethnic group or religion or section of the country.

 

The President should disregard ethnicity or religion in the consideration of the formation of his 2019 cabinet. He should shut his doors and ears to all ethnic and religious lobbyists and appoint competent Nigerian men and women, on merit to help him pilot the affairs of the nation.  

 

    The President was also advised to apply the same yardstick in the constitution of chairmen and members of boards of federal agencies and parastaltals, which are the major support pillars to ministries in execution of government policies, programmes and projects. This Group is insistent that Nigeria should come first, as against any ethnicity or religion.  

 

Abuja Accord observed with dismay the shameful outings of some MDAs in the preceding years who returned unspent budgetary votes amounting to hundreds of billions of naira to government coffers at the end of fiscal years. This ugly scenario occurred even in MDAs covering sectors with severe developmental challenges; but whose heads were barren of initiatives to utilize the funds released to them to better the wellbeing of Nigerians.

 

The President must be aware that the years 2019-2023 are the periods of fresh renewed hope as argued by Nigerians with his second mandate. And it behooves on him to shake-off all ungodly and distracting influences to redeem Nigeria from the clutches of people and sentiments which have tethered the country to the strings of servitude for decades.

The Code of Conduct Tribunal has convicted the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen of breach of Code of Conduct for Public Officers.

Reading the lead judgment, the tribunal chairman, Danladi Umar, ordered the immediate removal of Onnoghen from office as the CJN.

The Tribunal also stripped him of all offices earlier occupied, such as the Chairman of the National Judicial Council and also the chairmanship of the Federal Judicial Service Commission.

The tribunal also ordered the forfeiture of the five accounts which defendant failed to declare as part of his assets.

The tribunal also ordered the forfeiture of the money in the five accounts which Onnoghen allegedly failed to declare to the Federal Government.

Peru’s former president Alan Garcia died in a hospital in Lima on Wednesday, hours after shooting himself in the head to avoid arrest in connection with a bribery probe, authorities said on Wednesday.

Garcia was 69.

A skilled orator elected president twice, first as a firebrand leftist and then as a champion of foreign investment and free trade, Garcia had been dogged by allegations of corruption in recent years that he repeatedly denied.

Garcia had been one of nine people a judge had ordered to be arrested on Wednesday for alleged involvement in bribes distributed by Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction company that triggered Latin America’s biggest graft scandal when it admitted in 2016 that it had paid kickbacks to politicians across the region to secure lucrative contracts.

Members of his party announced his death to crowds gathered outside of hospital Casimiro Ulloa, where he suffered three cardiac arrests and underwent emergency surgery.

President Martin Vizcarra said on Twitter that he was “consternated” by Garcia’s death, and sent his condolences to his family members.

Garcia governed as a nationalist from 1985 to 1990 before remaking himself as a free-market proponent and winning another five-year term in 2006.

He had denied wrongdoing involving Odebrecht, and blamed his legal troubles on political persecution.

“Others might sell out, not me,” Garcia said in broadcast comments on Tuesday, repeating a phrase he has used frequently as his political foes became ensnared in the Odebrecht investigation.

Interior Minister Carlos Moran said at a news conference before Garcia died that the former president had told police he needed to call his attorney after they arrived at his home in Lima to arrest him.

“He entered his room and closed the door behind him,” Moran said. “Within a few minutes, a shot from a firearm was heard, and police forcibly entered the room and found Mr. Garcia sitting with a wound in his head.”

Last year, Garcia asked Uruguay for political asylum after he was banned from leaving the country to keep him from fleeing or obstructing the investigation. Uruguay rejected the request.

Garcia would have been the third former president in Peru to have been jailed in the Odebrecht case. Ollanta Humala spent nine months in pre-trial detention in 2017-2018 and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was arrested without charges last week.

A fourth former president, Alejandro Toledo, is fighting extradition from California after a judge in Peru ordered him jailed for 18 months in connection with Odebrecht in 2017.

All have denied wrongdoing in connection with Odebrecht.

In Peru, criminal suspects can be ordered to spend up to three years in jail before trial if prosecutors can show they have evidence that likely would lead to a conviction and the suspect would likely flee or try to interfere in the investigation.